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Some eateries are theatrical: This one acts as a stage for chef Tom Verdillo, who’s got considerable singing talents to complement his Italian culinary skills. When not behind the stove, the irrepressible owner goes into tenor mode and belts out mellifluous arias and Neapolitan folk songs. His audience shares his ethnic pride and hails mainly from Staten Island and New Jersey. The décor is upscale, with extensive walnut paneling, copper-tinged mirrors, and ceramic plates and figurines. On a menu combining Italian-American mainstays with authentic regional fare, lasagne di melanzane epitomizes the former: Delicate pasta sheets are interwoven with eggplant, pork sausage, ricotta, and Pecorino Romano in a zesty tomato sauce. Pappardelle al sugo di coniglio, by contrast, is a Piedmontese classic, its firm pasta topped by a rabbit sauce accented by fragrant pieces of meat and anchovies. Sure, the ambiance and crooning can get schmaltzy. But what’s on the plate is lyrical. — Michael Anstendig

The restaurant offers a daily prix-fixe three-course dinner for $25, including an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert. The weekday lunch prix fixe is $21.95.

Lasagna, $10; pappardelle al sugo di coniglio, $15.95; gamberoni agrodolce, $26.95